The present invention is directed to an improved fuel composition comprised of carbon black admixed with a fuel oil with the carbon black-fuel oil admixture being dispersed in an aqueous continuous phase.
Fuel compositions comprised of oil/water dispersions are known, with such dispersions comprising either oil-in-water (o/w) dispersions or water-in-oil (w/o) dispersions.
Exemplary oil-in-water dispersions are disclosed by Canadian Pat. No. 731,551; Japanese patent publication No. 53-45803; and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,199,326; 4,378,230; 4,455,149; and 4,618,348. It is also known to incorporate a solid carbonaceous component such as char in an oil and water-containing fuel composition as taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,145,189. The patent teaches that the amount of char which may be employed may be 50 percent by weight or more.
However, a need exists for the production of an improved fuel composition which contains low amounts of sulfur and ash yet can be produced from fuels (e.g., coal or fuel oils) which contain significant amounts of sulfur and/or ash and would thus otherwise generate undesirable combustion products.
A need also exists for the method of production of a particulate carbon-containing aqueous fuel composition which contains up to about 80 percent by weight of a fuel component.